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Tuesday 19 January 2010

~Social taboos~

I couldn't sleep the other night and it's in the calm dark night that I often have my 'deep thinking' sessions. This particular night I found myself remembering a tv programme my mum had made me watch at some point last year.
It was about self harm. And as soon as I remembered it I thought "Oh my god, self harm!" This set me thinking. Why is it that as a society we decide that something is so horrible or disgusting that we refuse to talk about it and even thinking about it causes an immediate reaction? And then again in a drama lesson at school, self harm came up as an idea in an unscripted piece we were doing and practically straight away everyone looked uncomfortable and tried to change the subject.
It's only when you're having serious conversations late at night that issues like that are mentioned, and even then, at the most open time of the day, it's still a very hush hush topic. Is it just because the majority of people don't, and don't want to, understand what it is that makes people do things like self harm, or suicide? Or is it that nobody wants to admit that at some point in their lives they may have considered it? Or something else?
The same goes for eating disorders - nobody ever wants to bring it up or talk about it, why not? Why are we so scared to discuss something that everyone should be aware of? And sexuality is still quite iffy - not many people want to admit it, but they're just as freaked out now by the thought of homosexuality as people were fifty years ago.
And I think somehow we need to change that so future generations don't grow up thinking that certain aspects of life can never be talked about in polite company. I thought I grew up like that but now I'm older I realise there was so much my parents never told me about, and still they find it difficult to talk to me about things like suicide and self harm - I don't know about you but I don't think that's right at all.
What do you think?
x

4 comments:

  1. Its not society. ITS BRITAIN! Dyou know britain is so shy about sex. We think we're shaming ourselves in front of our butlers! It isnt appropriate for *afternoon tea* heavens, no.
    In Holland the Dutch and the Germans in comparison are so much more open about SEX, at least. I don't know about suicide and self harm. But they talk about SEX so freely.
    I think we should take a leaf out of their book and put it in our tea.

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  2. absolutely :)we need to be more OPEN people

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  3. Yeah, I agree with that. Everyone lives in a constant fear I guess. Parents are most likely afraid to tell their kids about these becuase they are afraid they will give them ideas. It sounds stupid but it's kinda true. Us, well people mainly associaste these ideas with teenagers. I guess if we talk about it, assumptions get made. I dunno. People are so complex.

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  4. It's a mixture of fears. Fear of offending someone, fear of seeming 'weird', and fear of educating someone about something that's possibly harmful to them. I've self harmed when depressed. I'm not afraid to say I enjoyed it. If it's brought up, I don't look awkwardly to the floor, and I don't change the subject, I share my wisdom, if it is so required.

    Society these days is harsh. If something is misunderstood, it is shunned. It's only cuz I have experienced a lot of things, and understood them, that I'm tolerant of them. Unlike most of society.

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